You are here

Credit: Matthew Healey

New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi gets the crowd fired up during a Super Bowl send-off rally on Sunday.

Former linebacker Tedy Bruschi has been selected as the 21st member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.

The lifelong Patriots joins Drew Bledsoe and Troy Brown as the only players to get inducted in their first year of eligibility. Bruschi will be enshrined along with longtime play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos on Aug.11 at a public ceremony at Gillette Stadium.

"We knew when we drafted him in 1996 that 'Bruschi' was going to be a fan favorite in New England,"Robert Kraft said in a statement. "But, he was so much more than that. During the most successful era in the history of the franchise, Tedy was the heart and soul of the defense and proved to be a champion, both on and off the field. He was a high-energy, tenacious defender whose playmaking abilities helped propel the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships in four years. His remarkable and courageous return to the field following a stroke only added to his legend and solidified his place among the most iconic Patriots in franchise history. We look forward to celebrating his induction with our fans."

Bruschi echoed the excitement.

"It's a great day for me," Bruschi said. "My family is very excited. Mr. Kraft called me on the phone last night and let me know, gave me the news. He told me he was very proud for me to be in the Patriots Hall of Fame and I told him how much it meant to me. I'm very proud to have only played for one organization my entire career. I worked very hard to make sure that happened. I remember getting drafted in my apartment in Tucson, Ariz., and my girlfriend who is now my wife, I told her after I was drafted by the Patriots that I wanted to do everything I could to stay with the New England Patriots my entire career. That was after being drafted by the Patriots, within 10 or 15 minutes. To be able to look back and say that I did that and to stay with an organization and help them build something special is something I'm very proud of. And I don't know if in my mind I was finished but to have this -- winning championships is better, but this is cool. I guess those are my initial feelings about it."

Bruschi was selected by a committee as one of three finalists in April, along with former coach Chuck Fairbanks and tackle Leon Gray, and the fans voted Bruschi into the Hall. The fan vote made it all the more special for Bruschi.

"I always felt like I was one of them," Bruschi said of the fan base. "I never felt like I was any type of a special person or that I was any different than any of the people that were up there cheering on the Patriots. I always felt the New England Patriots fans did their work, got their work done, they liked to come home and spend time with their families, and when they had free time, they liked to cheer on their favorite team. That's who I am also. If I wasn't fortunate enough to play professional football, that's who I would have been -- a good family man to my wife and kids and then cheering on my local team. I think that's who I would be. I think that's why I related so much to them.

"Being here in New England my entire career, my kids being raised here, I sort of feel like I'm a transplanted New Englander. That's the way I feel. I still live locally. I think probably the most, with my kids getting older, they're Patriots fans, too. I think one of the most exciting moments for me after Mr. Kraft gave me the news was I told my sons, and to see their faces and how happy they were and them jumping up and down and giving me a hug, I think they were more excited than I was because I don't do very good with individual accolades. Like I said earlier, championships are better, so much better. This was never my goal. The College Football Hall of Fame was never my goal. Hall of Fames were not my goal. If they're a player's goal, I think his priorities are messed up. Championships were, and I'm glad we got that done, but this still is very cool."